Mobile Devices and what the University should do

Posted on: 27 March 2015
By: saundeg
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Filed under: Mobile

During the recently completed Review of Infrastructure and Environment for Learning and Teaching there was much discussion around the future use of mobile devices in learning and teaching. Staff generally agreed that:

• Total ownership of mobile devices, plus reliable wireless, supports new in class learning methods
• Mobile devices are potentially significant for group work
• A number of simple in-class approaches for engagement derive from tablets/mobiles
• There is concern that mobile devices in class is thought to = student engagement
• Staff need a lot of guidance and support to get started

The review concluded that the University should:

• Have a defined strategy(ies) for mobile learning and use of devices
• Provide guidance on reliable, effective mobile learning
• Develop an approach to ensure ‘total ownership’ of a suitable mobile device¹
• Ensure that the wireless network can support ‘total ownership’
• Ensure students have ubiquitous access to networks and power
• Enable students to network their own devices easily in campus locations
• Ensure social spaces support the use of personal devices and associated informal, collaborative, networked modes of learning
• Assess the impact of mobile/lighter devices on open access computing laboratories